January 28, 2019 By Debra Schroeder26 Comments This post may contain affiliate links. Traveling Well For Less has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Traveling Well For Less and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Read my disclosure policies.

How to Use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for Hawaii

There are three different ways you can use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Hawaii. You can transfer points to airlines, transfer points to Marriott then transfer to Korean, or book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

All three ways are easy.

Transfer Points to Airlines

You’ll get the most value and use the least amount of points if you transfer your points to airlines.

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards on a 1:1 ratio to 11 airline partners:

Aer Lingus AerClub

Air France & KLM (Flying Blue)

British Airways Executive Club

Flying Blue/KLM/Air France

Iberia Plus

JetBlue TrueBlue

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

United MileagePlus

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Points transfer instantly except for Singapore Airlines. It can take up to 2 days for your points to post to your KrisFlyer account.

Except for United, those airlines don’t fly to Hawaii from the United States. Southwest plans to start offering flights to Hawaii soon.

Thanks to airline partner alliances, you can use your miles/points to get to Hawaii.

Where to Book

Miles/Points Needed for Coach Ticket

Miles/Points Needed for First Class Ticket

Allow One-Way Flights

Allow Holds for Award Ticket

Bookable Online?

British Airways

American Airlines and Alaska Airlines

12,500 one-way from the West Coast

32,500 one-way from the West Coast

Yes

No

Yes

Air France & KLM (Flying Blue)

Delta Airlines

15,000 one-way

30,000 one-way

Yes

Yes

Yes

Iberia

American Airlines

28,000 roundtrip from the West Coast

64,000 roundtrip from the West Coast

No

No

Yes

JetBlue

Hawaiian Airlines

22,000 one-way from the West Coast; 30,000 one-way from the East Coast

45,000 one-way from the West Coast; 70,000 one-way from the East Coast

Yes

No

No

Singapore Airlines

United Airlines and Alaska Airlines

17,500 one-way on United; 11,500 one-way on Alaska (Zone 2)

30,000 one-way on United

Yes

Yes, but you have to call

Yes for United flights; No for Alaska flights

United Airlines

United Airlines

22,500 one-way

40,000 one-way

Yes

Yes

Yes

Virgin Atlantic

Delta Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines

20,000 one-way on Delta; 20,000 one-way on Hawaiian from the West Coast

Not offered on domestic Delta flights; 40,000 one-way on Hawaiian

Yes

Yes

Yes for Delta flights; No for Hawaiian flights

British Airways

Photo courtesy: British Airways

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways Avios on a 1:1 ratio.

British Airways doesn’t fly to Hawaii but their partners American Airlines and Alaska Airlines do. You can use your Avios points on American and Alaska without transferring your points.

You’ll pay fewer points than if you used American Airlines miles or Alaska Airlines miles!

You can book one-way and roundtrip tickets with British Avios points.

But there’s a catch.

British Airways uses a distance based award chart. This means the further you fly, the more British Airways Avios points you’ll pay.

They also charge for each flight segment. If you have a connecting flight, you’ll pay for each stop.

You’ll get the most value on short, nonstop flights.

Direct and connecting flights will cost more Avios than nonstop flights of the same distance.

Pro-tip: A direct flight is not the same as a nonstop flight. A direct flight includes one or more stops without changing planes. Your flight number stays the same even if you stop at another airport.

A quick way to find out how many miles your flight is to use the Great Circle Mapper. Enter your airports in the box and click the while “Distance” button.

Leave From the West Coast

You’ll get the best deal to Hawaii if you leave from the West Coast.

Because it’s only 12,500 Avios one-way or 25,000 Avios roundtrip to fly to Hawaii from these cities:

Anchorage

Bellingham

Los Angeles

Oakland

Phoenix

Portland

Sacramento,

San Diego

San Jose

Seattle

The same coach flight costs 22,500 American miles one-way or 50,000 miles roundtrip! A First Class flight costs 55,000 miles one-way or 110,000 miles roundtrip.

If you used Alaska Airlines miles, you’d pay 17,500 miles one-way for a nonstop flight or 35,000 miles roundtrip. Flying First Class would cost 40,000 miles each way or 80,000 miles roundtrip.

From the West Coast, a First Class ticket is 32,500 Avios points one-way or 75,000 points roundtrip.

East Coast Hack

If you aren’t starting in the West Coast, it may be cheaper to use your Southwest Companion Pass to get to the West Coast.

Let’s say you’re Rob’s friends, Gary & Emily from Boston.

It would cost Gary and Emily 120,000 British Airway Avios for roundtrip tickets from Boston to Maui.

Yeah, that’s a LOT of points!

But they can save 57,810 to 70,000 points if they use their Southwest Companion Pass to fly from Boston to Los Angeles.

Pro-tip: You’ll get more value using Chase Ultimate Rewards points for hotels than on Southwest flights. Instead of transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest, get a Southwest credit card instead. The Southwest Premier, Southwest Plus, and Southwest Priority card are each offering a 30,000 point signup bonus AND the Companion Pass. The Southwest Premier Business card is offering a 60,000 point bonus.

Step 4 – Transfer Points

Points transfer instantly but you have to refresh your page. Sometimes you have to log out and log back in.

Step 5 – Book Your Flight

Once the points are in your account and you’re ready to book, click “Continue” to book your flight.

Pro-tip: If you aren’t seeing any available American Airlines flights try logging into the American Airlines website. Look for coach MilesAAver flights. Write down the flights and times, then call British Airways to book.

How to Book Alaska Airlines Flights With British Airways Avios

Alaska Airlines flights aren’t shown on the British Airways website. You have to search for award tickets on the American Airlines website or the Alaska Airlines site.

If using the American website, uncheck the American Airlines box to only show flights on Alaska. Write down the flight numbers and times and call British Airways to book. Their number is 1-800-452-1201.

Air France & KLM (Flying Blue)

Photo courtesy: Air France

Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfers on a 1:1 ratio to Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France & KLM.

You can’t fly from the US to Hawaii on Air France or KLM. But you can use Flying Blue miles on Delta flights to Hawaii.

With Flying Blue miles, you can book one-way and roundtrip flights.

Flying Blue doesn’t have a traditional award chart. They use a pricing calculator. But it doesn’t show mileage information for flights from the US to Hawaii.

How to Book Delta Flights With Flying Blue Miles

Photo courtesy: Delta Airlines

It’s easy to search for flights on the Delta website. You don’t need to log in to look for award space. Enter your travel details, then click “Miles” under the “Show Price In” section. Write down the flight number and times.

But that doesn’t always mean you can book those flights with Flying Blue miles.

The best way to determine if you can use your Flying Blue miles on Delta is to check the Flying Blue website.

Step 1 – Log in to Your Flying Blue Account

Log in to your Flying Blue account.

Step 2 – Enter Your Travel Details

Enter the city you want to fly from and the city you want to fly to, your travel dates, and class. For example, Los Angeles (LAX) to Maui (OGG).

Then click on the red “Find A Flight” box.

Step 3 – Chose Your Flights

Select the flights you want.

Step 4 – Transfer Points

Sign into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account and transfer 30,000 points to Flying Blue. You may need to log out and log back in for the points to appear.

Step 5 – Book Your Flight

Book your flight once your points post to your account.

If the flights you found on Delta’s website aren’t showing on Flying Blue’s site call Flying Blue to book your ticket.

Pro-tip: You have to have at least one Flying Blue mile in your account to search for flights using the KLM site. But you can use the Air France site without having any miles.

How to Book Hawaiian Airlines Flights With JetBlue Points

You have to call JetBlue at 1-800-538-2583 to book a ticket using points.

Singapore Airlines

Photo courtesy: Singapore Airlines

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Singapore Airlines on a 1:1 ratio. But it’s not an instant transfer. It can take up to 2 days for your points to post to your KrisFlyer account. If you’re lucky, they’ll post in 24 hours.

Flights from Zone 1 (California, Oregon, and Washington) to Zone 5 (Alaska, and Hawaii) cost 12,000 Singapore miles each way or 24,000 miles roundtrip in coach.

This is 1,000 miles less than using British Airways Avios. And you don’t pay extra for connections.

But for flights from Zone 2 you only pay 11,500 Singapore miles one-way or 23,000 miles roundtrip.

Zone 2 includes:

Arizona

Colorado

Idaho

Montana

Nevada

New Mexico

Wyoming

Utah

Canada

Because Singapore doesn’t offer award flights to Hawaii from any of the 25 states in Zone 4. If you’re traveling from a Zone 4 state like New York or Florida you should use your Southwest Companion Pass to get to any of the states in Zones 1, 2, or 3.

First Class flights to Hawaii using Singapore miles aren’t a good value from. You’ll pay 44,500 miles one way, 89,000 miles roundtrip from California, Oregon, and Washington. Ouch!

How to Book Alaska Airlines Flights With Singapore Miles

You can’t book Alaska flights with Singapore miles online. 🙁 You have to call Singapore Airlines.

United Airlines

Photo courtesy: United Airlines

Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to United Airlines on 1:1 ratio. Because United flies to Hawaii, you can search for and book your flights on their website.

A one-way coach ticket to Hawaii costs 22,500 United miles from anywhere in the US (except Alaska and Hawaii). A roundtrip flight costs 45,000 miles.

If you want to fly First Class, you’ll pay 40,000 miles one-way, 80,000 miles roundtrip.

Step 3 – Log into Your Flying Club Account

Step 4 – Transfer Points

Refresh your page so the points show in your Flying Red account. You may need to log out and log back in.

Step 5 – Book Your Flight

Once your points post to your account you can book your flight.

Hawaiian Airlines

You can use your Virgin Atlantic miles on Hawaiian Airlines flights.

Coach flights from the West Coast to Hawaii cost 20,000 Virgin Atlantic miles one-way and 40,000 miles roundtrip. First Class flights are 40,000 miles one-way and 80,000 miles roundtrip.

If you’re flying from the East Coast you’ll pay 40,000 Virgin Atlantic miles to fly one-way in coach and 80,000 miles roundtrip. First Class flights are pricey at 65,000 miles one way or 130,000 miles roundtrip!

Use your Southwest Companion Pass to get to the West Coast and you’ll pay fewer miles.

How to Book Hawaiian Airlines Flights With Virgin Atlantic Miles

You have to call Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to book your flight. The phone number is 1-800-365-9500.

Pro-tip: You have to book at least 48 hours before departure. And you can’t pool miles. So all miles have to come from the same Virgin Atlantic account.

Transfer Points to Marriott, Then Transfer to Airlines

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Marriott on a 1:1 ratio. You can book flights using your Marriott points but it costs a LOT of points! For example. you’ll pay 120,000 points for a roundtrip ticket from San Diego to Hawaii.

For people who can fly from the West Coast, you should transfer your Marriott points to British Airways. Because you can book a roundtrip coach flight to Hawaii for 25,000 Avios points.

If you live on the East Coast or anywhere but the West Coast, you should transfer Marriott points to Korean Air.

You can use Korean Air miles on Delta Airlines. Sometimes it’s cheaper to use Korean Air miles to fly to Hawaii on Delta Airlines than using Delta miles! But you should check Delta’s website first before you transfer your hotel points to an airline.

A coach ticket to Hawaii from the US (except Alaska and Hawaii) is 25,000 Korean Air miles roundtrip and 45,000 miles for a roundtrip ticket in First Class.

Book Through Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal

You can also use your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for Hawaii by booking through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

Usually, you shouldn’t book through the Ultimate Reward travel portal. Because often you get a better deal transferring points to participating airlines. And redeeming miles instead of using the portal.

But there are times when you should book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. Such as when you can get a cheap flight to Hawaii.

When You Should Use the Portal

Whether you should book through the portal or buy a ticket depends on three things: the ticket cost, which miles/points you want to use, and how much your Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth.

Points from some Chase credit cards have a higher value than others. Here’s a table showing the point values.

Conclusion

Who doesn’t want to go to Hawaii? It’s the perfect vacation. Even more when you can use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Hawaii. So instead of paying cash for your trip, you can use miles and points!

The best ways to book a trip to Hawaii depends on what miles and points you have. Some airlines charge fewer points than others. While others based award tickets on how far you fly.

You have more flexibility in finding flights to Hawaii with a transferrable points program like Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to airlines at a 1:1 ratio. You can get roundtrip coach tickets to Hawaii for as little as 24,000 miles!

Another option is to book flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. Whether you should book through the travel portal depends on the price of the ticket, the miles you want to use, and how much your points are worth.

Got a question? Or want help, suggestions, travel tips, learn how to travel for free, find out about travel deals, and maximize your miles and points? Use the subscription box below to sign-up and getpost updates by email.

Comments

The below responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

This post is right up my alley – I am a big believer in making the most and maximising your points! I have friends who don’t use frequently flyer cards or points – and I think they’re just missing out big time! Thanks for sharing this!

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